


Hic Sunt Dracones (Haven? We NEVER go to Haven!)

by alorarose, serendipityxxi



Category: Haven - Fandom, Warehouse 13
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 11:52:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3380489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alorarose/pseuds/alorarose, https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipityxxi/pseuds/serendipityxxi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pete and Myka are chasing an artifact unfortunately Duke buys it first. Whammies, hijinks, blankets and... cuddles? ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time Serendipityxxi was watching Alphas. She and Alorarose had been planning on writing a crossover between Haven and the Warehouse but could not think of a good artifact. Luckily, Alphas 1x05 had an Alpha Ability she could not resist. So yup, they stole it. However they did tweak it some and are admitting it freely here :)
> 
> This takes place in Haven just after 2x10 “Who, What, Where, Wendigo” and references that episode and all of season 2 prior to it. Spoilers for episode 4x05 "No Pain, No Gain" of Warehouse 13. 
> 
> Many thanks to our Beta ConfessorAlana whose enthusiasm is inspiring.

Claudia gasped when she saw the ping come up on the computer. She'd been searching for this artifact since Dr. Vanessa had told her about the deaths in Fenton, Pennsylvania. She'd said there were feds on the case, but they weren't Warehouse agents, and the situation definitely smelled artifacty. There was a boy who had committed suicide after being bullied and, according to the newspapers, the mother went on a revenge killing spree. The hinky thing about the deaths, though, was that it was caused by an overdose of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, and all the victims had suspiciously low levels of oxytocin, the brain's happy hormonal drug. That wasn't normal, and when things weren't normal, that's where _they_ came in. 

She wasn't even entirely sure how she figured out that the blanket was an artifact, but ever since Mrs. F had showed her how they were created, and made her aware of her connection to the Warehouse, Claudia could just _feel_ these things. And hey, if the blanket turned out to be completely innocuous, no harm done, right? Right. She'd tracked this damn blanket all over the place, and finally, a computer program she designed to find pictures of this blanket on the internet, had returned a result. The blanket was in Maine. Bangor, Maine.

~*~*~

“Lobster, Myka. Pete need Lob. Ster.” Pete intoned pointing at his mouth.

His curly haired partner was driving and ignoring all his attempts to get her to relax and enjoy their extended stay in Maine. All along their route the leaves were changing, turning orange and red and russet (yes! He actually used a word from his “word of the day” calendar Myka had given him for Christmas). Every now and then they glimpsed the Maine coastline through the trees and got a whiff of salty sea air. “Come on, Myka! That place had a sign that says they catch their lobsters fresh every morning!”

"You are a child," she resisted the urge to take her gaze off the road and glare at him. The roads were full of twists and turns and it was years of experience dealing with Pete that kept her focused on driving. She had hoped they would find the blanket easily in Bangor. It was supposed to be a simple auction, the blanket being in a lot of items for an estate sale, but now they were chasing the artifact to a little seaside town she'd never heard of. A man, though some of the people at the auction had more colorful words to call him, had bought the blanket before they'd even gotten there. It wasn't the first, nor the last time, that had happened to them, and after all this time, she learned to take it all in stride.

She glanced at him again. "Maybe after we get the artifact."

“But Myka,” Pete whined, enjoying watching his partner’s eye roll. “We’re,” he checked the GPS, “two HOURS away from Haven! I may have collapsed from starvation by then. My low blood sugar will be on your head.” He sighed dramatically when she ignored him some more and leaned against the window. “Fine. I’ll just be over here, wasting away…”

"You're not wasting away," she lightly whacked his arm then reached over to the glove compartment to grab one of the meal bars she'd stashed there. She tossed it into his lap then returned her attention to the road. "We don't know what he's planning on doing with the blanket, the more time we waste, the colder the trail will get."

Pete made a face at the bar. Granola. Great. Just what a growing boy needed. “What he’s planning on doing with the blanket?” Pete scoffed as he peeled open the crinkly plastic. “I’m going to guess he washes it and then snuggles down under it after eating a delicious dinner of Maine lobster.” Pete glanced wistfully out the window.

"Okay, I'll let you eat all the lobster you want, and then _you_ can explain to Artie how an artifact that murders people with _sadness_ killed the whole town of Haven," she risked another look away from the road to glare at him.

Pete made a sad face at Myka, huffed and shoved the whole powerbar in his mouth in one go then settled in to await his lobster. He only hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to find this Duke Crocker. Claudia had relayed his file for them over the Farnsworth. Crocker had a few priors but seemed to have been on the straight and narrow the last few months. He recently became the owner of a bar called The Grey Gull and Pete was willing to bet they served food so hey maybe things were looking up.

"You're sulking," Myka broke the silence. "I don't even know how I deal with you," she teased him. She didn't like it when Pete sulked, even when he was sulking over mundane things like food. She didn't like seeing that look on his face. 

“I’m not sulking,” Pete protested, spraying granola crumbs everywhere. “Just wondering how our fair Arturo is doing on his vacation. How long do you give him before he caves and checks in with Claudia?”

"You're going under the assumption he hasn't already checked in with her," Myka bobbed her head in emphasis.

Pete laughed and the partners settled in for their long trip to Haven.


	2. Chapter 2

~*~*~

Crocker’s bar lived up to its name from the outside, it perched on the edge of a small bay large and gray as any gull in the area. Haven itself seemed like the stereotypical small town, cute cottages, a snazzy looking lighthouse, lots of signs for lobster. Apart from the enormous sinkhole on the road in, it was pretty much forgettable.

When Pete and Myka walked into the Gull there were only a few patrons milling about in the late afternoon light coming in through the large windows. Pete noted a pretty blonde and a lanky guy in deep conversation at one of the tables because they both sported Haven PD jackets. There was a man behind the bar wiping out glasses and glancing at the police officers. Pete and Myka recognized him from his picture and made a beeline towards Duke Crocker.

"Excuse me," Myka said as she stepped up to the bar, standing between the stools and letting a hand rest on the edge of the bar. "Are you Mr. Crocker?" 

Duke looked up, his hand sliding completely off the bar to drop the rag in the bucket by his feet. "Depends," he offered a smile, more genuine than the one the woman before him was offering. "Does he owe you money?"

Myka looked him up and down, biting her lip slightly in thought. "No," she said slowly, her eyes lifting to meet his. She'd seen so many of his type, she could profile it instantly. They always thought they were as tough as they appeared to be. "Do you owe many people money?"

Duke's head tilted to the side, his smile widening into a grin. "So what can I get you? You look like a tequila sunrise type of gal," his hand reached beneath the bar for a glass, but he didn't miss the way her eyes followed it. "You customs agents?"

“Secret Service,” Pete said just as easily, stepping closer to the bar and drawing Duke’s attention. He flashed his badge. “Did you purchase lot 24601 from the Jenkins Auction house in Bangor?”

"Um," Duke's eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth between the two. "Is the president in town? I'm sure I would have heard if the commander in chief of the United States was in some crappy little town in Maine."

"Were you in Bangor recently, Mr. Crocker?" Myka asked, bringing this back on target. 

"Is the president worried about my travel plans?"

“Look man,” Pete smiled winningly at Crocker willing to play the bumbling secret service agent, “we’re not trying to mess with you but one of the items in that lot wasn’t meant to be there and we need it back. It’s a matter of national security and my ass, okay? Now do you have it or not?”

"There is a great divide between national security and your ass," Duke said matter of factly. 

Pete rolled his eyes.

"Not that much of a divide really," Myka commented softly.

Duke chuckled. "Even if I _did_ have it, I'm under no obligation to tell you anything."

“No, but wouldn’t it be inconvenient if we called in some favors at the customs office and they came out here and started asking questions too?” Myka asked.

"Now that would be harassment," Duke casually leaned against the bar. "And seeing as I've done absolutely nothing wrong, it doesn't matter if they come a knockin'" Duke tested his bluff.

Pete quirked his eyebrows at Myka. His visions of a lobster dinner getting further and further away.

Myka tried to not roll her eyes. 

They were saved by the arrival of the blonde that Pete had noticed earlier. She sidled up to the bar and took a seat on a stool.

“Afternoon, Agents,” she said with a friendly smile. “What might my good friend Duke have done now?”

"Always thinking the worst of me," Duke shook his head and refilled the empty mug of coffee she brought over with her. 

The tall, lanky officer came up on the other side of the agents, leaning an elbow on the bar. "She just knows you," he quipped. 

"Special Agent Myka Bering, Secret Service," Myka introduced herself. "My partner, Special Agent Pete Lattimer."

“Audrey Parker, Haven PD,” Audrey held out her hand to the two. “This is my partner, Chief Nathan Wuornos,” she nodded to the man on Pete’s left. “So what brings the Secret Service to Haven?” Audrey asked.

Her voice was perfectly even, her posture open and friendly but Pete got the weirdest vibe suddenly that she was hiding something.

"It's just a small matter with Mr. Crocker here," Myka kept her voice just as even. "We were inquiring about a purchase he recently made."

"Duke?" Nathan tilted his head slightly to look at the bartender.

"Estate sale," Duke replied. "Nothing illegal, I assure you," he tipped his head to Nathan. "No weapons, projectile or percussive."

Nathan hummed softly, turning his gaze back to the strangers.

Myka restrained herself from glancing at Pete. They'd had to deal with local authorities in the past, and knew they didn't appreciate them being anywhere near their jurisdictions, but for _once_ she wished things would go smoothly.

“If it’s not illegal then why do you need whatever it is Duke may or may not have purchased?” Audrey asked.

Pete sighed and pulled out his card and placed it on the bar in front of the bartender. “Mr. Crocker if you reconsider turning over your purchase the United States Government is willing to repay any fees including the purchase price plus shipping and handling. My number’s there on the bottom,” Pete tapped the card, “call us any time.”

"Sure thing," Duke nodded his head in acknowledgement, but Myka didn't like the smirk on his face. She touched Pete's arm and gently pushed him away from the bar.

They were barely to the parking lot before Pete whipped out the Farnsworth. Time to get sneaky which meant Claudia needed to do some digging for them.

~*~*~

"Duke. What exactly was it they were after?" Nathan waited until the agents were out the door before he spoke, but even so, kept his voice low.

"They didn't say. Just something from the stuff I bought at an estate sale. Just knick knacks," he waved it off.

"Uh… huh," Nathan nodded slowly. 

“So the Secret Service thinks some tchotchkes from an old lady’s house are worth investigating?” Audrey asked, disbelief clear in her voice. Duke was not nearly the bad guy he tried to paint himself as but he was much more pragmatic than moral at times. She usually came down on Duke’s side at times like these, just to keep him and Nathan from fighting, but Haven was in a mess right now with her recent shooting of the Rev. Nathan didn’t need to tell her they didn’t need two unknown feds poking around their strange little town. She only hoped Duke wouldn’t jerk the Feds around just to spite her for shooting Driscoll. Duke had to know the man had only been going to keep stringing him along.

"Okay well, you need to get rid of them," Nathan ordered, effectively echoing Audrey's thoughts. "Even if you have to give them whatever it is they want, we cannot risk anything happening."

Audrey internally groaned as Nathan’s tone sent Duke’s hackles up. Things were going to go downhill from here.

"You think I don't know that?" Duke had been trying to keep his temper, but it was always Nathan who pushed his buttons. "This is about the _principle_ of the thing. I'm sure this is right up there with all those other Bill of Rights in which the government can't just come in and take our stuff."

"You really have no idea what you're saying right now, do you," Nathan didn't know how much more of this he could take. "They offered to pay you for whatever it was," he turned away from Duke to look at Audrey.

Audrey turned to Duke and said very reasonably. “Come on Duke, you don’t want them in your hair any more than we want them in Haven. Just give them whatever it is that they want and let them get gone,” she suggested.

Duke opened his mouth to protest again, because seriously, why did this always fall on him? When did he break his rule about not getting close to anyone involved in law enforcement? He wanted to complain that sure, he'd just throw away what he believed in, _once again_ , for this stupid town. But in the end, it was his fault for coming back here. "You know what? _Fine_. Whatever. I'll give you the stuff," he flicked his hands at them and stormed out of the Gull, grumbling about the injustice of interrupting his business practices.

Audrey got up and followed Duke, not sure what she wanted to say but unwilling to end the conversation like that.

With an annoyed grunt, Nathan followed her.

~*~

Duke parked his car in his normal spot and hopped out, heading straight for the pier where the Cape Rouge was docked. He was still fuming about the situation, the drive over having done nothing to quell the indignation. He muttered curses to himself when a car pulled in after him. He turned to look, scowling when he saw Audrey and Nathan get out of the car. "I don't need a sitter!" he snapped at them

Nathan rolled his eyes and followed Duke down the dock. “Just making sure you don’t ‘accidentally’ toss the box overboard just to spite us,” he said.

Duke spun around to confront Nathan, hand lifting to point a finger at the man. "This isn't elementary school, Nathan. _Some_ of us grew up."

Nathan smiled wryly. “Pretty sure that someone was me,” he agreed, batting Duke’s finger out of his face.

Duke growled in frustration. "Why are you always such an _asshole_ , Nathan?" Duke took a step forward then shoved Nathan backwards.

Nathan grabbed Duke’s arm to stop him from shoving him again. This was the guy who was talking about being more mature?

"Shit," Duke realized his mistake a split second after he made it. He had too much momentum and Nathan had been standing right on the edge of the dock. As the two of them fell off the edge and splashed into the water, Duke wondered if Nathan was even able to swim when he couldn't feel the water.

Nathan couldn’t feel the water but he felt a very real bolt of fear when he plunged beneath the surface. He thrashed about in the dark grey depths cursing Duke with every ounce of his being. He kicked out trying to get to the surface but almost hoping he’d catch Duke knowing he’d gone into the water somewhere close by. 

"Damnit, Nathan!" Duke sputtered, catching a mouthful of water as he tried to stabilize them both. "Stop trying to kick the crap out of me and let me get us out of the _very cold_ harbor."

Nathan was suddenly being dragged up, he could see the water rushing past him and then the surface and there was Duke speaking from somewhere behind him and Audrey on the dock. He shook his head and his ears cleared and he could hear them again. 

“Nathan! Hold still and let Duke help you!” Audrey ordered.

With his bearings back Nathan shoved away from Duke and swam clumsily to the dock. Audrey grabbed onto him and helped haul him out of the water. 

“Are you okay?” she asked, hands cupping his face. Nathan shivered violently as her touch made him realize how cold the water had been. 

“‘m fine. Get Duke,” he grunted out. 

“Duke’s fine,” Audrey assured him, moving so he could see their friend pulling himself onto the dock.

Duke rolled onto his back, panting. This was ridiculous. "And here I thought it was only Haven that was trying to kill us all."

Audrey rolled her eyes. She left the two to drip and boarded the Cape Rouge. She spotted a blanket hanging out of a box on the deck and snatched it up along with the one underneath it and turned back to Nathan and Duke. 

When she got back to the two they had lapsed into silence and were both sitting mutely shivering on the side of the pier. Nathan took the blanket from her but shook her off. “You’d just make it worse, Parker,” he told her. 

She shot Nathan a dirty look but turned and wrapped the second blanket around Duke’s shoulders from behind. He was oddly subdued now. “You look so miserable I’m not even going to mention how incredibly stupid that was,” she informed him. She rubbed briskly at his upper arms. The waters around Maine were never known for their warmth but, with Fall setting in, Duke had to be freezing.

"Thanks," Duke's voice came out a mumble, his attempts to stop his teeth from chattering failing. He snuggled into the blanket, pulling it more tightly around him. This blanket was surprisingly warm. The dunk in the 50 degree water actually cooled off his anger and now Duke just felt ridiculous. He looked at Nathan, "Thanks, for... you know… keeping the sarcastic comments to a minimum. I'm sorry, I… I wasn't thinking." 

Nathan looked down at him, his usual stoic expression ruined with an annoyed eye roll.  
“One would think attempted murder was becoming a chronic thing with you, Crocker. First you pull that gun on me, now this…”

"I _had_ to," Duke protested. "I had to make the Rev believe I was on his side."

“Doesn’t mean you didn’t enjoy playing the part,” Nathan accused.

“Nathan,” Audrey scolded.

"No, Audrey, he's right.” Duke felt a draining sensation as if all the happiness in his body were dripping out of him with the sea water. Rage replaced it as he glared at Nathan who could never, ever, find it in him to forgive him. As if everything Duke did wrong was so much worse than when Nathan did it. He’d drawn his gun on Duke too. “Do you want me to say I enjoyed pointing a gun at you? Yeah, I did. Any chance I get to wipe that holier than thou smug off your face. Sometimes I wish I could just… pull the trigger. But then, you wouldn't feel it, would you?"

“That’s enough, Duke!” Audrey said, moving to stand in between the two men.

“But you would,” Nathan sneered, pushing his soggy jacket back to reveal the gun still strapped to his hip. 

“Nathan!” Audrey had no idea how things had escalated so quickly. 

Nathan shook his head and turned to go. He flicked his wet hand at Duke, letting the droplets land stinging and cold on his face. 

"And there he goes," Duke got to his feet, he was filled with renewed indignation at Nathan, at Audrey, and at the Feds. "You know what? Screw off." He dropped the blanket back on the box Audrey had taken it from and walked away from them.

"Sure, run away, that's _definitely_ what you do best!" Nathan called after him. "You're not one to clean up your own messes."

“Great, Nathan. Just great,” Audrey said, watching Duke slam the hatch shut. “He’s definitely going to give us the auction items now.”

Audrey hustled up the dock after their friend. She boarded the Rouge without permission and rapped on the door. “Duke!”

"Go away, Audrey!" he called out to her over the sounds of things crashing around the cabin as Duke kicked his furniture in frustration. "Go hound someone else!"

“Come on, Duke,” Audrey tried the knob. It wasn’t locked. She pushed open the door and stepped in.

"What part of 'go away' didn't you understand?" he spun around and flung his hands up. "You're also trespassing."

“Look Duke, you both got mad, you both said things you didn’t mean. It was an accident pushing him into the water. We all know you’re not that kind of guy. Help me out and give me the auction lot so we can get the feds out of here.”

"You just want to smooth things over, that it, Audrey?" He leaned down to set a chair that he'd kicked over to rights. "It's not that easy. You want it to be easy, but it never is."

Audrey sat next to him and put her hand on his arm. “It never is,” she agreed. “But today it can be.”

Duke shuddered, her touch momentarily calming him down. He didn't want to be calm, though. He was mad, and it angered him even more that neither Audrey nor Nathan cared. "You should use that philosophy when dealing with your own actions," his voice was calm. 

“What do you mean?” 

"What I mean is, that you want everyone else to make choices that make life easier for _you_ , but when it comes to _you_ making a choice, it still makes life easier for _you_."

“This is about the Rev? Duke! Come on!"

"Go. Just go!" Duke shouted, his hand shooting out to point at the hatch.

Audrey got to her feet. “He was just going to keep jerking you around, Duke!”

"Even if he was, now I have nothing, and so do you. No box, go away!"

“This isn’t over, Crocker!” she warned as she slammed the door behind her.

The door slammed and Duke felt a searing pain in his chest that made him double over. In actuality, the pain didn't last that long, but to him, it felt like never-ending agony. He crouched on the floor, clutching at his chest as he gasped for air. The intensity of the pain diminished, but a dull ache lingered. "Knew that woman would kill me one day," he muttered. 

~*~*~

Pete and Myka sat dejectedly over their dinner of fresh Maine lobster. Their search of Crocker’s boat had been a bust. They hadn’t found anything from the auction house, far less their artifact. Artie would be getting back from his vacation soon and he’d want to know why it had taken them two days for a simple snag and bag like this.

Pete sighed and dunked another piece of lobster in the melted butter. At least the lobster was as great as advertised and the biscuits were fantastic. He looked at Myka sitting grumpily in front of her plate and picked up a garlic and cheese biscuit.

“Here,” he said, spraying crumbs everywhere and not caring, hoping it would annoy her out of her funk. “Have another biscuit.”

The image had the desired effect, Myka smiled. She took the biscuit and gently rolled it in her hands. "They _are_ really good," she nodded, taking a bite and taking her time to chew so she could savor the flavor. "I'm going to have garlic breath after this."

“Too bad, then that pirate guy won’t want to kiss you,” he made exaggerated kissy noises at her.

"You are such a Neanderthal," her smile faded and she chucked the rest of the biscuit at him. She instantly regretted the move and snatched the last biscuit off Pete's plate, quickly putting the whole thing in her mouth.

“Go, Mykes!” Pete cheered, too surprised to be put out that she’d stolen the last biscuit. He picked up the piece she’d thrown at him and popped it into his mouth, chewing with relish. He rolled his eyes at the face she was making. “Like I don’t already have Myka cooties.”

The smile came back and she took a sip of her water to wash the biscuit down. "So, what do we do, Pete? We can't wait for someone to get whammied to get another lead on this. We _have_ to find out what he did with the blanket."

“Then it’s time we keelhauled that scallywag,” Pete said, in a terrible approximation of a pirate accent. “We’ll make him walk the plank if he won’t tell us where the treasure be buried, Captain Bering!”

“Or, we can go question him again without his cop pals around,” he added off Myka’s dry look.

"You know, forcing people to 'walk the plank' wasn't a regular thing, right?" Myka quirked an eyebrow. 

“Come on Myka, don’t go ruining pirates with facts!” Pete protested.

"How do you even get through a day?" she asked in wonderment.

Pete gave her a wide grin. “That’s what I have you for, Partner,” he said and his smile widened even more as her cheeks turned pink at his sentiment.

~*~*~


	3. Chapter 3

The Gull was bustling with clients when Pete and Myka walked in again. Crocker was behind the bar wiping glasses once more. His cocky smirk was missing, his shoulders hung tiredly beneath his worn denim shirt and there were bags under his eyes that weren’t there yesterday. He looked like someone on the verge of coming down with the flu. Pete hoped that it was the kind of tired that made you just want to give the person bothering you what they were asking for so they’d go away.

It didn't take Duke long to spot them, the agents stuck out like sore thumbs, and he was unable to hold back his groan. The low throbbing headache he’d been nursing since yesterday ratcheted up a notch at their approach. Could this week get any worse? "You'd better just be here to drink," he called out to them.

“Sorry, man,” Pete said. “We really need the items from that auction. We can pay you for the whole lot man, why not just let us have it and get out of your hair?”

He really did want them out of his hair, he wanted them out of _Maine_ even. "Well, you're shit out of luck. I sold the whole lot to Gary down at the thrift store. Now leave me alone," the last words were said more firmly.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Myka said sweetly. "Thank you, Mr. Crocker," she touched Pete's arm, gesturing for him to follow. It was only a day since the auction, this Gary couldn't have sold the blanket yet, right? Hopefully. Myka didn't believe in luck but she crossed her fingers just in case.

“What a dick move,” Pete muttered to Myka as they walked out. “He totally did that just to spite us.”

Myka bowed her head in a curt nod to let Pete know she agreed with him. But, this really wasn't any interference they hadn't fielded before.

Audrey and Nathan walked in as the feds were walking out. She nodded to them cordially as they passed.

"Oh great, I just can't seem to shake the fuzz today," Duke laughed in a short burst. "Maybe it was something I ate."

"What'd you tell them?" Nathan sat down on a stool at the bar. He'd decided to go with the usual tactic of pretend there wasn't a huge fight that ended up with a lot of things being said that weren't meant to be. Most of the time Duke fell right in with this tactic.

"None of your business," Duke replied shortly.

Nathan sighed internally. Apparently Duke didn't intend on joining in on that plan.

“Did you give them their ticket out of Haven?” Audrey asked, sitting next to Nathan and leaning across the bar.

The town had been atwitter with the news that Secret Service Agents were in Haven and staying at the inn for a few days. Half the force had harassed Nathan through Laverne, reporting sightings of the Feds all over town along with dire predictions of what they would discover. Dwight had told them there were rumblings from the Guard. Vince and Dave had nagged them to get Duke to get rid of the agents each time they crossed paths with the Teagues which had been more often than usual today.

Audrey was feeling prickly and guilty, she was tired from dealing with the fallout over the Rev and she really didn’t need another Nathan/Duke showdown. Duke needed to give up the goods whatever they were.

Duke sighed deeply, feeling it down to his core. "I sold the whole lot, just to spite them."

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" Nathan scowled. 

"Nathan. I am _not_ in the mood today. Take your comments and your judgment elsewhere." Duke knew he was essentially picking a fight with Nathan over nothing but he really wasn’t up for dealing with Princess Wuornos’ delicate sensitivities. His entire body felt...wrong, off, like his skin was too tight, his headache was getting worse and all he really wanted was for Nathan and Audrey to stop acting like he was the bad guy here.

"You're not in the mood, really," Nathan scoffed, leaning further into the bar, his voice coming out a hiss. "This is bigger than just you, Duke. Do I have to remind you what would happen if it got out what happens here?"

Duke was fed up. He didn't need Nathan coming into _his_ bar and pushing him around. He got it. Of course, secrets were at stake but, who did Nathan think he was? "Yes Nathan, please. Remind me of things I already know, because clearly you think I need schooling on this." 

"Stop being a jerk, Duke."

"Stop being a stuck up prick, Nathan."

“Do you two want to pull each other’s hair and tell mom now?” Audrey asked suddenly, standing up on the edge of her stool, catching both men’s attention. She’d had enough. 

Nathan’s mouth gaped open in indignation but she forged onward. 

“Damnit, Duke! This isn’t just you sticking it to me, or Nathan, or to ‘the man’, this could be you putting people in danger of getting killed! And not just the Troubled but those agents, who have no idea what is going on here, and you’re just letting them wander around town blindly! Who knows what they might stumble into!”

“Like a barn that makes you lose your memory,” Duke supplied and though he didn’t mean it as a taunt he saw Audrey’s face take on a furious expression at the mention of the other Audrey Parker.

“Exactly like that,” she enunciated coldly.

“And it would be all my fault, again, right?” Duke hissed getting angry as well. “I didn’t ask for this responsibility, you and Nathan are the superheroes here, you want to save people,” he spread his arms wide, “feel free.”

“No one asked for this,” Nathan growled right back. “We’re just doing what we can to make the best of a bad situation, we don’t all go around starting fires just to see how much will burn. Some of us face our responsibilities instead of running off and playing pirate.”

People were starting to look now that the Chief of Police and their friendly neighborhood bar owner were starting to get louder.

Audrey caught the glances and the whispers but the other two were too intent on glaring at each other. Duke’s hands were in fists on the bar, muscles corded with tension. She could see the muscle twitching in Nathan’s jaw.

“And some of us spent so much time trying to please daddy, who was never going to think they measured up to begin with, that they don’t know what they actually want out of life but are just a little tin soldier doing what’s expected of them. I never offered to lay down my life for Haven, the Troubled, any of this, they can all go to hell for all I care!”

Audrey grabbed Nathan’s fist before it could make it across the bar and pushed her way in between the two men. “You and I both know that is the biggest pack of bull you’ve said all night, Duke.” she whispered it across the bar, eyes flashing dangerously. “You care about more than yourself, Duke Crocker. You’re not even this guy,” she gestured at him. “You’re not the selfish bastard you make yourself out to be, you’re just pretending to live down to people’s expectations. You know that and I know that! What really pisses me off is that you’re my friend and I expected you to be on my side in this, not to make it harder for me to keep people safe!” 

She felt hot, angry tears welling in her eyes and stalked away before either man could notice.

Duke didn't think he could feel any worse, but then the world around him was suddenly spinning out of control. It hit him like a fist, one minute he was standing arguing, the next he was somehow on the floor, unable to stop shaking and unable to focus his eyes on anything. Except Nathan, who was suddenly in his face, saying his name repeatedly. 

Nathan had jumped over the bar when Duke hit the floor. The other man's skin was flushed red, some parts of it even looking like a rash was spreading, and he was barely responding to his name. Nathan called out for Audrey, not knowing where she'd even gone, and gently touched Duke's arm, smoothing his hand over the skin in an attempt at some form of comfort. "That's weird," he muttered, watching as the rash receded a bit.

“What the hell happened?” Audrey demanded over his shoulder, suddenly there. She knelt at Duke’s side and shook his shoulders. “Duke? Duke can you hear me?”

Someone in the crowd asked “Is he alright?”

Audrey glanced up, the crowd was staying on the other side of the bar but who knows how long that would last. “Do something about them?” she hissed at Nathan.

Nathan rolled his eyes, but started to get up. "Just… keep touching him." He turned on his cop face and started pushing people back from the bar.

“What?” Audrey sputtered but he was already gone. Of all the things she’d expected Nathan to ever say to her, she’d never expected him to encourage her to touch Duke.

Nevertheless, Audrey put her palms on Duke’s cheeks, bringing his bleary eyes to hers. “You’re going to be okay, Duke,” she told him, taking in the bloodshot eyes, the labored breaths and how clammy his skin was. She felt a cold pit of worry develop in her stomach but forced a reassuring smile across her face for him. “This is a hell of a way to end an argument, Crocker,” she teased gently, stroking his arm and noticed what Nathan probably had. Where her fingers touched the rash disappeared. It came back if she moved her hand. What the hell was going on here? She put her hand over his chest, hoping that helped with his breathing somehow and asked “Can you tell me what happened?”

Duke blinked his eyes, Audrey's face coming more into focus each time. "I think… I'm having one of those Haven moments."

Audrey laughed gently and squeezed his hand. “What happened? How do you feel? Have you pissed anyone off lately? Touched anything strange? Met anyone who seemed off?” she quizzed. In the back of her attention she could hear Nathan talking to Duke’s staff and hoped he was getting someone to help them get Duke up to her apartment.

His hand came up to clumsily pat her arm. "If I knew, I'd tell ya," he shook his head. He thought he'd regret it, but he was feeling better than he had minutes ago. "Can you help me up before my ego takes any more of a hit?"

“Are you sure you can make it?” she asked, but already she was pulling him into a sitting position and then slipping under his arm to help him to his feet. Duke towered over her when they were vertical again. He felt unstable under her arm, fragile. That wasn’t a word she usually associated with Duke; it made her anxious to think it. She looked around for Nathan.

"Okay," Nathan came up on Duke's other side, slipping his arm around the man's back. "The bar's covered, let's get you out of here." 

With them being closer in height, it was easier for Nathan to help Duke along, so he let Audrey go ahead to open the door to the Grey Gull and then the door to her apartment upstairs. Duke was unnaturally quiet during this process, but his coloring was looking a lot better. Nathan sat them down on the couch, and though Duke gave him an odd look, Nathan didn't move from his side, nor did he take his arm from around the other's shoulder. 

"Trust me," he scoffed. "You're not my type."

Audrey came and sat on the coffee table in front of them. “Watch this,” she told Duke, taking his hand in hers. His fingers were cold to the touch but she ignored that to wrap her hand around his forearm where the rash was most prominent, angry red splotches on his skin. She held onto him for a moment and then moved her hand to show clear, unblemished skin where her fingers had been. Even as they watched however, the rash began to return.

Duke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Great," he nodded. "Have I mentioned how much I hate this place? Because I hate this place."

"Yeah," Nathan nodded in agreement. "That's why we came back though, right?"

"There's no place like home," Duke said sarcastically. 

“Could be worse, boys,” Audrey teased. “We could be living in Sunnydale.”

"What makes you so sure Haven isn't on top of a Hellmouth?" Duke raised an eyebrow at Audrey who chuckled.

"A what? No, you know what, never mind. We're getting off track," Nathan frowned. "Duke, we need to figure this out-"

"I know," Duke interrupted. “But I have not pissed off anyone new, well, besides those Secret Service Agents, but the odds of _them_ being Troubled are very low."

"When did you start feeling… like this?" Nathan asked.

Duke took a moment to think about it. When _had_ he started to feel off. "After I fell into the water yesterday. I thought I was just coming down with something. It wasn't until just now that it was _that_ bad, though."

“What about anyone who was acting strange? Have you touched anything unusual since yesterday? Anything new?” As they’d spoken Audrey had been rubbing Duke’s hands between hers, his fingers were warming up and his breathing seemed to be evening out. She was relieved and confused by the reaction.

Duke started to recap what happened after falling into the water. "We got Nathan out of the water, then me, then… you wrapped me in a blanket… and then I went to chan-" Duke stopped, cutting himself off. "The blanket," his eyes turned to Audrey. "You pulled it off the stack of stuff those Agents were looking for."

“What was in the lot you bought, Duke?” Audrey asked, her gaze turning serious. “Is it possible something belonged to someone from Haven?”

"I don't know, it was just some estate sale down in Bangor. I guess it's close enough?" he shrugged. 

"But how does an object from a dead, possibly Troubled, person, still affect people?" Nathan thought aloud. "If the person is dead, we can't help them. Did the name sound familiar?" he asked Duke. Duke was trembling and Nathan only noticed it because he looked at his hands. He wanted to reach out and still them, but held back.

"No. If it was a family from Haven, I'd definitely recognize the name. Haven's not _that_ big." Duke hoped Haven wasn't that big. It would have been a lot easier if they could track down the family, demand to know what their trouble was, and stop this. 

“Maybe the real question is why was the Secret Service interested in this lot? Maybe the blanket or something in it was exposed to something the government doesn’t want getting out?” Audrey suggested, feeling that cold pit of worry grow deeper as she realized this might not be a Haven problem that she could fix. You couldn’t really talk a virus out of infecting a person like you could a Trouble. 

Unknowingly, Nathan's thoughts were echoing Audrey's. He had to fight to keep his mind from going to the worst case scenario. As much as he was annoyed by Duke, he didn't want Duke dying from something like this. His hand moved almost of its own accord, rubbing up and down Duke's arm.

Duke sighed. Nathan's hand felt good on his arm, and really, he wanted to know how a guy who couldn't feel anything was able to give such a comforting touch. It made him really stop and think, because how he was feeling right now, it reminded him of something. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Nathan's hand. "Have either of you ever been high?"

Audrey looked up, startled. “A couple times in college,” she admitted plainly. “Why?”

"Knew it," Duke chuckled then looked at Nathan, who just stared at him. "Knew that too. Okay listen, when you're high, there's this feeling of euphoria, like everything is good and nice. _That_ is what I'm feeling right now, and believe me, it isn't because I like being petted by you, Nathan."

Nathan's hand stilled when he realized what he was doing.

Audrey bit back a smirk at Nathan’s expression.

“So for once your story about accidentally buying illegal drugs is true,” she laughed, the worry in her stomach unclenched a little. If this was just a reaction to some secret off the market drug then Duke would be fine.

“One of us should go question the Secret Service Agents, see if there’s a treatment for this kind of drug,” she suggested. “Maybe find out why they’re here and not the DEA.”

"I'll go," Nathan started pulling away from Duke, who reacted instantly to the loss of an arm around his back. His mouth opened in a silent gasp and his shoulders started trembling. Nathan's frown was deep with worry and he pulled Duke back against him, the symptoms quickly easing. "Audrey, you need to sit on the couch," he shook his head, peeved at the whole situation. "I'll be back as quickly as I can."

Audrey slipped onto the couch on Duke’s other side and wrapped her arm around him. Before Nathan could get far she took hold of his wrist with her other hand knowing he needed the contact to soothe his ruffled feathers now too. “I can handle this. He’ll be fine,” she assured her partner but her eyes, she hoped, told him not to read too much into the situation.

They watched Nathan hurry out of the room in silence, Audrey all too aware of the fine tremors wracking Duke’s body now that she was pressed so close to him.

“You’re going to be fine,” she told a visibly worried Duke.

"Just as long as this wasn't the machinations of a bearer of a certain tattoo," Duke smiled for her, but it didn't reach his eyes. He wondered if all the other close calls didn't mean that this time was the one where he'd kick the bucket. He hoped not. 

Audrey wrestled Duke into lying on the couch, spooned together. Duke accepted his role as the little spoon manfully. His head was heavy where it rested on her collar bone. It was weird and a little awkward. Audrey Parker hadn’t had anyone to hold her growing up, she didn’t even snuggle with the guys she slept with and no helpful Lucy Ripley skills were surfacing either.

She fidgeted with her hands. The one that was under them was going numb, and she didn’t know where to put her free hand, placing it first on Duke’s shoulder, then on his elbow, then on his bicep. This was a lot easier when things had been frantic and they hadn’t known what was going on downstairs. Now that her job was essentially to cuddle Duke and wait for Nathan to get back she had too much time to think about whether she was doing it right.

Duke’s hand, large and now warm, closed around her wrist drawing her out of her thoughts. “When they say cop a feel, Audrey, they mean you’re supposed to do it subtly not that if you’re a cop it gives you a license to feel people up,” he teased. He pulled her hand across his chest, laying it over his heart so Audrey had no choice but to lean closer, her cheek resting against the crown of his head.

“Sorry,” she muttered. His heart beat faster than it should under her palm and she wondered how much of that was the drug and how much was worry about what he’d been exposed to. His breathing was still a little ragged and he was still trembling a little but not so much as before. The rash on his arms was all but gone which was a good sign she hoped.

“Seriously though, when was the last time you cleaned the stove?” He asked, reaching for their familiar banter to help Audrey relax. She was stiff as a board behind him. This had to be weird for her, he realized, Audrey wasn’t really a casual touch kind of person. He appreciated her giving up her comfort zone for him. “As your landlord I have to tell you I will not be replacing it if it catches on fire because of the six inches of grease you let build up on it.”

Audrey laughed and hit him in the arm, then rubbed over the spot in apology.

“Shut up, Crocker,” she said without any heat behind it.

She unearthed the remote and turned on the TV so he would be distracted from noticing the rest of her nonexistent housekeeping skills.

They fought over what to watch but finally agreed on Jeopardy. Duke surprisingly enough knew a lot of the answers and Audrey enjoyed grousing at the players who did not. The two found themselves relaxing. Audrey’s hand came up and began to card through Duke’s hair all on its own and he had to stop himself from purring like a cat at how good that felt.

They had been silent for a time when Duke spoke up. “This just goes to show how messed up living in Haven is,” he began. “But this,” Duke waved his hand in front of them to encompass the whole situation. “Is actually kinda nice. It’s not a Trouble, no one’s going to come in and shoot us, okay maybe I might die but if the cure is cuddles from my favorite Fed,” he winked flirtatiously over his shoulder at Audrey, who rolled her eyes, “well…”

Audrey laughed, her breath ghosting over Duke’s ear making him shiver. And it was kinda nice. Duke was warm and smelled good and the inane show on the television was just distracting enough. Audrey could see why people did this regularly in non-life-or-death situations. 

~*~*~  
"Does it seem to you like we're always one step behind this artifact?" Myka walked out of the thrift shop ahead of Pete. She stepped aside, resting a hand on her hip as she looked down the sidewalk. "The auction house, Duke Crocker, and now the thrift store? I know it's Fall, but what are the odds someone _just so happened_ to have already bought the blanket?"

“Uh oh,” Pete said instead of answering her complaint. He nodded to where their rental was parked. There was Duke Crocker’s police chief friend and he looked strung out, nervous and angry as he paced beside their car. “Think we’re about to get run out of town?” he asked Myka as they approached.

"Not without the artifact," Myka whispered to him. "Chief Wuornos," she greeted the man as they came up beside the car. 

"I need you to be straight with me," Nathan squared off his shoulders, facing them head on. "Why are you really here, what is it you're after?"

"As we told Mr. Crocker," Myka wasn't a short woman, but Nathan had almost a half foot on her, and she tried to make up for the height difference with confidence. "There were some items in the estate sale that shouldn't have been sold."

"What items?" Nathan asked.

Pete pulled out his phone. He suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut. “We’re looking for this blanket,” he showed Nathan the picture. “If your friend Crocker’s been in contact with it he might be adversely affected.”

"Why?" Nathan replied firmly. "Why would he be adversely affected?"

Myka glanced at Pete, unsure how much they should reveal, or what they should even say. "Something happened," her eyes narrowed. "That's why you're asking. What happened?"

"No," Nathan wagged a finger. "First, you talk. You're on _my_ turf."

Pete huffed a sigh. “Does he have a rash? Complaining of a headache, nausea or chest pains?”

“He _collapsed_ , alright!” Nathan exploded. “Now what’s wrong with him?”

Pete looked at Myka. 

"Is it some sort of drug?" Nathan was annoyed by their hesitance.

"Yes," Myka made sure to keep her voice even, though she pounced on that story. "There were traces of it on the blanket. It significantly decreases the oxytocin levels, which causes the cortisol levels to increase, stressing out the body. This massive change in hormone levels is what caused Mr. Crocker to collapse. Oxytocin is-"

"I know," Nathan interrupted bitterly. "Happy hormones and stress hormones. That's why touching Duke helped," he said the last part mostly to himself. "So how do we _fix_ it?"

“Keep him as comfortable as you can for the moment, whatever it takes to boost his oxytocin levels. If he has family? Or a girlfriend?” Pete watched Nathan shake his head with a sinking heart. “Whoever he’s close to then, keep them around. Essentially his stress hormones are overwhelming his body, things could get... bad. Possibly heart failure bad if he’s left alone,” Pete warned. “We’ve got something that should help but we’ll need a few hours for the office to send it to us.” He lied and he didn’t even feel bad about lying. Once they got the blanket from its newest owners Duke Crocker would be fine. He just needed the police chief to let them do their job. 

Nathan examined his face, trying to determine whether or not the agent's intentions were to help. It was always hit or miss with Feds. What he was saying made sense though, and if they said they could help… "Okay," Nathan's jaw worked slowly. He took the card Agent Bering was holding out, that had her phone number on it, and handed her one of his own. "Call the second you hear _anything_."

"We will," Myka assured him. 

“Chief,” Pete said, “the longer this goes on the harder it’ll be on his body. Make sure he’s not left alone, okay? Even someone holding his hand might help lower the stress hormones in his body.”

Nathan nodded, then got into his truck, which was parked behind the rental car. Myka relaxed after he'd driven off. "Pete, we need to find that blanket."


	4. Chapter 4

~*~*~

Audrey had dozed off between the nattering of the game show host and the warm comforting weight of Duke’s head on her shoulder. She woke with a start. Duke was muttering and twitching in his sleep.

"Hey," Nathan had just, at that moment, let himself into the apartment. He crossed the room, coming up on the couch, and knelt down. Duke was still asleep, so Nathan gently rubbed his hand over the other man's arm. He stilled some. "Any change?" he asked Audrey.

She shrugged as best she could without disturbing Duke. “He’s the same, I think. What did the Secret Service say?”

"They admitted it was a drug. It was on the blanket they were after, the one you wrapped Duke up in after his swim. It causes his body to become really stressed, so we just need to keep his oxytocin levels up until they get us the antidote."

Audrey blanched. “Oxytocin is one of the hormones your body produces after sex,” she hissed at Nathan. “The Secret Service ordered us to have sex with him?”

"What?" Nathan's back straightened. "Parker, no-"

"Neither of you are having sex with me," Duke mumbled. "No matter how hard you beg."

“You know you’d be the one begging, Crocker,” Audrey murmured into his ear, delighting at the shiver that elicited.

"Evil," Duke's voice was shaky. "Audrey Parker, you are evil incarnate."

"Don't get too comfortable," Nathan scowled. "Parker, let's switch."

"Cool your heels, Lurch," Duke chuckled. "There's enough of me to go around."

"At least I won't have to _feel_ it," Nathan quipped back.

Audrey rolled her eyes at them but nudged Duke into sitting up. “I’ve got to go the bathroom anyway,” she said, getting off the couch. Duke looked better than he had when they’d lain down. The bags under his eyes were smaller, his skin much less splotchy. “Try not to ravish Duke on anything that’ll be damaged while I’m gone,” she teased Nathan.

"Hilarious," Duke rolled his eyes. His body shivered involuntarily in the few seconds it took Audrey and Nathan to switch places. His heart started to pound harder. The contact helped again, but it wasn't the same as Audrey. He was pretty sure Audrey liked him at least. Nathan was just doing this out of some misguided sense of duty. He probably really was glad he couldn’t feel it given how much Nathan disliked him. Suddenly, Duke couldn’t stand the pity. "You know, I think I can last the few minutes it will take for Audrey to get back. I'm going to raid the fridge," he began to pull away from Nathan, fighting against the nausea that suddenly reared up.

"Duke, what are you doing?" Nathan was half tempted to just let the man go.

"I'm hungry," Duke lied. He took one step away from the couch and dropped to his knees, the room spinning around him.

"Duke, stop being an idiot," Nathan leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Duke's shoulders, and pulling him backwards to the couch. 

"Who's being an idiot?" Duke snapped, jerking out of Nathan's grip. "Maybe I just don't want to get all comfy cozy with you, Nathan. Maybe I'm not a cuddler!"

"Well this cuddling is saving your life, so stop. Being. An. Idiot."

"I am _this much_ done with your bullshit," Duke gestured, spreading his arms wide to show how much he was over Nathan's bullshit. 

"Duke, get back on the couch," Nathan said firmly.

Duke got back to his feet, albeit unsteadily, and somehow managed to get around the coffee table and halfway to the kitchen before dropping again. He didn’t try to get up again. Instead he put his head in his hands and just concentrated on breathing. He hadn't felt this bad since his daughter was sucking his life away.

Nathan sighed deeply and sat down on the floor next to him. He rubbed circles on Duke's back and when Duke didn't protest or flinch away, he kept at it. Duke always acted like he didn’t care when Nathan brushed off his attempts at friendship. Nathan was surprised to find he’d actually hurt the other man’s feelings. He spent a lot of time saying that he disliked Duke and most of the time he meant it. He couldn’t trust him or his motives but there was still a small part of him that saw the changes in Duke that Audrey did, that wished that he could trust they were real, a part that still wanted to be friends. It reared its ugly head in moments like this and then he found himself cuddling another full grown man on the floor. It was odd but... it was also Duke, so in another way it wasn’t. 

Audrey came back into the room and felt a stab of panic when neither Duke nor Nathan were on the couch. Her heart went back to its normal rhythm when she found them on the floor.

“Come on,” she said, hauling at Duke’s arm to help him to his feet. She didn’t comment on the raised voices she’d heard from the bathroom or their new position. She just directed the boys to the bed instead of the couch, no way all three of them were going to fit there.

She helped Nathan get Duke seated then knelt to undo the laces on his boots herself.

Duke stared straight ahead. Really, when had this become his life? He vaguely took note of Audrey lifting one foot and then the other, to remove his boots, and then Nathan pulling him to lay down. He was suddenly feeling apathetic toward everything. "This is worse than being hit with a Trouble."

Audrey squeezed his hand. “At least we know this wears off,” she said.

She and Nathan squashed the unnaturally silent Duke between them as best they could. With her arm stretched behind Duke’s head she could tangle her fingers in the hair at the nape of Nathan’s neck. She wasn’t supposed to be cuddling Nathan but it had occurred to her that given his Trouble he probably had extremely low levels of oxytocin himself and she was shamelessly going to use the opportunity to boost his as well as Duke’s.

Nathan smiled at Audrey, tilting his head to look at her. Since the only thing he could feel was her, it was easy for Nathan to imagine it just being him and Audrey in the bed. 

Audrey smiled back.

"I can feel the sexual tension," Duke mumbled. "Not sure how I feel being in the middle of it."

Audrey rolled her eyes and poked Duke in the ribs. He gave a little squeak and Audrey’s eyes widened. “Are you...ticklish, Duke Crocker?” she demanded, an idea sparking in her mind.

"No, definitely not," he squirmed away from her, which only pushed him further into Nathan. "This is getting awkward way too fast."

"Getting?" Nathan quirked an eyebrow.

Audrey poked Duke again. “Is he ticklish, Nathan? You’ve known him since you were kids, you must know.”

"Guys don't go around tickling other guys, Parker," Nathan frowned.

"They most certainly do _not_ ," Duke agreed.

Audrey scowled and leaned over Duke to poke Nathan in the side where his shirt had ridden up. He also jumped. Audrey grinned triumphantly and waggled her fingers at both her boys waiting to see who would flinch first.

"I've got a gun," Nathan's eyes never left Audrey's fingers.

"He's got a gun," Duke wriggled closer to Nathan.

Audrey looked between the two and shrugged. “Not close enough to do you any good,” she said and pounced.

Fingers fluttering between the two she attacked eliciting some very girly shrieks from her very manly friends. No sex was to be had, that would just complicate things further but this was better for Duke’s spirits than awkward enforced cuddling she decided.

"Parker!" Nathan's voice hit a decibel he never knew possible as he fruitlessly tried to grab the wrist of the hand accosting him. Duke was squirming beside him, his laughter right in Nathan's ear. Duke was laughing, that was a good sign. Now, if only Parker would tickle _Duke_ and not him! 

Duke had given up trying to restrain Audrey's wrist and instead pushed forward to pounce her, the two of them tumbling over Nathan's legs to fall back down on the bed. "Oh god," he wheezed. "Please stop!"

Audrey looked up at her friend, he was breathless with laughter, his eyes bright and hair mussed and she couldn’t help the wave of fondness that overtook her.

“Fine,” she said magnanimously, pushing Duke over so he crashed once more into Nathan instead of mussing his hair and kissing his forehead as she was tempted. That would’ve only embarrassed him more. “I will show mercy, but that means I get control of the remote, no backtalk from either of you,” she wiggled her fingers at her boys menacingly as she got to her knees then crawled back to her spot.

Before she sat back down she gave into temptation and dropped a kiss on Duke’s forehead anyway and one on Nathan’s for good measure.

"As the lady wishes," Duke chuckled. "Just no reality TV, please."

Audrey said nothing just found a channel and lay down. She wrapped her arm around Duke’s middle, the palm of that hand coming to rest on Nathan’s hip. She slid her hand under the hem of his shirt so she was touching bare skin and just left it to rest there.

~*~*~

Myka stood, hands on her hips, as she looked up at a large Victorian house. The house was beautiful, with a wraparound porch and blue painted trim framing white washed siding. It even had stained glass windows. She found herself taking a moment to fantasize living in a house like this. The proprietor of the thrift store pointed them to Tom Brennan who had bought every single blanket in the store. Myka understood that. Colorado was also cold in the winter, but buying up _every_ blanket sounded a bit extreme, even to her. "Do you think we should have come with a blanket? To, you know, make a trade?" she asked Pete. 

“Damn, that would’ve been a good idea,” Pete said mournfully. “But there’s nothing for it but to knock now.” And he did so, three sharp raps and then swished his jacket back to show off his badge more prominently.

The door was answered by a heavily pregnant woman in her early thirties accompanied by a blast of heat from the open door. It was hot in that house. How many blankets could they need? He gave her his best charm smile. “Hi, Mrs. Brennan?” he asked.

The woman smiled back and Pete grinned, he still had it! “Yes, can I help you?”

"I'm Special Agent Myka Bering, and this is my partner, Special Agent Pete Lattimer, Secret Service," Myka showed her badge to the woman. "We're actually here to talk to your husband, is he here?"

The woman looked at the badge, her face scrunching in confusion, like everyone else who wondered what the Secret Service could possibly be doing so far from D.C., then looked behind her into the house. "Tom," she called out. The heat coming from inside was still hitting them on the porch and Myka could already feel the sweat beading on her skin.

Tom Brennan appeared a few moments later, wiping the sweat from his brow but leaving a streak of mint green paint on his forehead as he did so. He had paint spots on his jeans and even a few dots in his brown hair.

“Hey,” he greeted the two, surprise in his voice. “I guess you’re not the delivery guy...” he said.

“No, these are Secret Service agents,” his wife told him. “They want to talk to you.” Her eyebrows raised in silent question.

Tom shook his head at her and at them.

“What can I do for the government?” he asked.

Pete held out a printout of a photo of the blanket Claudia had sent them. “Have you purchased this blanket recently?” he asked.

"Bought a lot of blankets recently," he affirmed. "Cassie's due date is right around the corner and I don't want either of them catching a chill.

“Can’t be too careful with the Maine winters,” Pete agreed with a forced chuckle. “Actually, we were hoping we could buy that blanket from you, Mr. Brennan.”

Cassie was the one who took the photo from Pete. “Oh no, Agent Lattimer, Tom was just telling me how this blanket looks just like one his mom had when he was a kid. I’m sorry but we’re keeping it for sentimental reasons.”

"We're willing to pay much more than it's worth," Myka added. "We'll even replace the blanket."

"The blanket isn't for sale," Mr. Brennan said firmly. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a lot of cleaning to do." He pulled his wife into the house and shut the door firmly behind them.

Myka's shoulders slumped. "This is going to be a problem."

~*~*~

Artie bustled into his office with a smile on his lips and a song in his heart. A day spent with Dr. Vanessa Calder was enough to do that to a man. He dropped the smile as soon as he spotted Claudia, quickly schooling his features into his customary scowl.

“What are you doing in here? What happened to inventory? And where are Pete and Myka? Shouldn’t they be back by now? Can’t a man spend one day out of the office without everything going to pieces?” he blustered while hanging up his coat. The office was in fact neater than he’d left it, there were inventory reports on his desk and really Pete and Myka should still be gone another day but how would he keep Claudia on her toes if he didn’t grouse?

"Artie!" Claudia's chair swung around and her arms spread as wide as her grin. "O, Captain, my Captain!" She jumped out of the chair and hugged him, ignoring his scowl. "So? How was it?" she nudged his side. "How's Dr. Vanessa?"

“Never mind that,” he growled, hoping he wasn’t blushing. “What’s the sitrep on that blanket? Why’s it taking so long? And were you…” he glared at the frosty bottle of coke on his desk, “for heaven’s sake! Were you raised in a barn? Use a coaster!” he huffed overlooking the snow globe sitting behind the bottle pointedly.

"Oh relax," she took the bottle and moved it. "You're going to undo all the good work of your day off!" She dropped back into her chair and turned back to the computer. "They hit a snag in Bangor, someone bought the lot before they got there. But, they got the name of the guy and went to find him."

“What guy? Where?” Artie asked, nudging her out of his chair and logging her out of his system. His fingers were clattering so hard over the keys he almost didn’t hear Claudia’s response.

"Guy's name is Duke Crocker, he lives in…" she leaned over to glance at her notes. "Haven, Maine."

“Haven?!” Artie sputtered, his eyes going round in panic so that his bushy brows almost disappeared into his hair. “No! No, no, no, no no! We _never_ ever go to Haven, Maine!”

~*~*~

“Y’know what we could do, Mykes,” Pete said. “We could go get some lunch, I’m thinking a little lobster will help me figure out a better way to get the Nesters in there to give us that blanket a lot faster.” He got her best ‘so exasperated at Pete there are no words!’ look in return and grinned. It wasn’t often he managed to make her make that face.

Myka shook her head, lips parting to say something, when she was interrupted by the buzzing of the Farnsworth. She punched Pete's shoulder then opened the device. "Clau-"

"Soooo, we may have a little problem," Claudia interrupted. The view in the screen moved as she tried to keep Artie out of it. "Apparently, Haven is a no fly zone."

“It is beyond a no fly zone! It is a do not enter at all costs zone! What are you even doing there? Myka, you’ve read the manual! You two get out of there right now!” Artie ordered.

Myka pinched the bridge of her nose. "We can't," she shook her head. "Mr. Crocker has been whammied by this blanket, we need to neutralize it. I-I know we're not supposed to be here, but this blanket is _dangerous_ Artie. And now it's with a couple who are expecting a baby and…"

“You knew, Haven was off-limits?” Pete interrupted, amazed and a little impressed. “Look at you, Myka Bering, going all rogue!” he held out his hand for a fist bump.

Myka stared at him, then looked back at the Farnsworth. "Artie... we need to get this blanket."

Artie sighed heavily. “Myka, this is a “hic sunt dracones” zone. Get it and get out. Now.”

The little screen in Myka’s hand went black and Pete turned to his partner, eyebrows raised in question. 

“Hic sunt dracones?”

She nodded her head firmly then bit her lip as she closed the Farnsworth. "It translates to 'Here Be Dragons'," she explained. "It's what they put on maps to denote an uncharted area."

“But it’s _Maine_ ,” Pete protested, “how can it be uncharted?”

"Pete, read the manual," Myka sighed in frustration. She turned back around to face the house. "So, how do we get the blanket out?"

“I may have an idea,” Pete said.

~*~*~

“Come on, Mykes, this was your idea in the first place,” Pete said, hauling two more bags of blankets from the backseat of their car. “He’s obviously got a thing for blankets, I’ll distract them with these, you sneak around the back and grab the artifact, easy peasy.”

"Pete, we don't even know where in the house the blanket _is_ ," she grabbed one of the remaining bags of blankets. "For all we know, he has it locked away somewhere and I will have entered his house _illegally_. For a blanket."

“It’s creative snagging, Myka,” Pete assured her, hefting all four bags of blankets into his arms. “Besides the Police Chief is off somewhere hugging it out with his best friend. Now go hide around the side of the house while I knock.”

Myka drew in a deep breath, readying herself, then disappeared around the side of the house.

Pete’s knock brought him face to face with a cranky looking Tom Brennan. “Hi, Mr. Brennan, can I interest you in a trade?” he asked brightly.

"You again," the man frowned deeply. "Damn Feds just can't take ‘no’ for an answer." He looked down at the bags Pete set on the porch and grabbed the one nearest him. "But I _will_ take your kind donation," he backed into the house with the bag and slammed the door.

Myka was honestly shocked that the back door was open. She was worried she'd have to climb through a window, and while she was capable of it, the act ran a higher risk of detection. She could hear voices on the other side of the house, Pete and Mr. Brennan, but there was no other movement to indicate where Mrs. Brennan was. She began a cursory search of each room, figuring it'd be hard to miss a stack of blankets, considering the man had bought out the thrift store. She wanted to shuck her jacket, the heat feeling much worse inside than it had from the porch. 

The front door slammed and she quickly ducked into a room to hide. It appeared she'd hit the jackpot, though, for the room, which appeared to be a den, was filled to the brim with blankets. In fact, the room had been set up as a huge blanket fort. She swiped a hand across her brow to stop the sweat from falling into her eyes. She startled when something was dropped to the floor behind her.

"Unbelievable," Tom Brennan scowled. Myka had only enough time to notice the fist swinging at her head before everything went dark. 

“Well, that went well,” Pete muttered to himself. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and knocked again.

There was no response. Pete waited a beat and then knocked again, he had to keep Brennan distracted so he wouldn’t catch Myka. Pete knocked a third time, louder now. The door was wrenched open a moment later and Tom Brennan’s fist swung out. Pete dodged and Tom swung again this time his hand looked...scaly? Pete was so distracted that Tom connected with a thwack. Down he went. His last thought was Myka was never going to let him live this down.

~*~*~

"Why are you guys even here?" Duke was curled into a fetal position, Nathan at his back, Audrey in front of him, and his face buried into the pillow. Duke felt lower than low. His heart was pounding in his chest, his head ached, his skin felt like it was two sizes too small. He was pretty sure he was going to die and he didn’t deserve Audrey and Nathan’s concern. They should just leave him.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan didn't look away from the television.

Audrey looked down at Duke. The rash was coming back. She put her hand on his forehead. He felt warm to the touch.

“Duke?” Audrey asked softly.

"I'm not even a nice person," he reasoned. "I don't do nice things. I put tacks in your back."

"We were kids," Nathan brushed it off. "I didn't feel it anyway."

"That's the point," a small whine escaped his throat. 

“Duke,” Audrey called, “hey, Duke,” she leaned over him to speak directly in his ear. “Look at me,” she put her hand on his chin, trying to tip it up. They were so close her hair fell across his forehead as she spoke but Duke simply squinched his eyes shut tighter.

“Duke,” she tried again when he wouldn’t budge, “this is the drug talking. We all know you’re not that kid any more,” she assured him, rubbing her hand along his arm. The rash receded but not as much as before.

"Nobody likes me," Duke mumbled. "They just use me. Like Ashley Wuscott in the 2nd grade. And Evi," he sighed. 

Nathan sighed in exasperation. "Duke, snap out of it."

" _You_ snap out of it," he snapped at Nathan, jerking his head around to look at him. It put him really close to Nathan's face and he jerked back the other way.

Audrey glared at Nathan over Duke’s head. She put her hand on his cheek urging him to look at her. “Duke, this is the drug talking. Nathan’s forgiven you for how you treated him back then, right, Nathan?” She scowled at her partner. “We both like you. We’re both your friends. Can you take some deep breaths for me?” she encouraged. His face was heating up under her hand, his breath coming in short shallow pants.

"No," Duke gasped. "Just let me die, Audrey. Let me go eat worms in a corner. I-I can't," he shook his head. "Even _she's_ gone because of me."

"No one's letting you die," Nathan shifted so he could pull Duke firmly against him in a tight hug. 

“She who?” Audrey asked smoothing Duke’s hair off his forehead. “Evi?”

"I tried to get her to leave, told her it wasn't safe," Duke buried his face in Audrey's shoulder.

“You yourself told me you knew it was the Rev’s fault Evi’s dead. You tried, you couldn’t have done anything else to get her out, Duke.” Audrey stroked his hair and down over the nape of his neck, he was definitely feverish.

"There's _always_ something else to try," his protests were weak, he didn't have the energy for more. 

"Not in this," Nathan sighed softly. "Duke, the Rev was not a good man. He hurt a lot of people."

"But the reason she died," Duke's voice faltered. "It was because of me, information about me."

Audrey cupped the back of his neck and drew him away to look at her. “She died because the Rev and his pals are bigoted, selfish, paranoid fools, determined to keep their secrets regardless of who they hurt. You have a right to know what happened to your father, Duke. No one should keep that from you.”

"They're lying to you too," he said to her. "All they ever do is lie."

“But we’re not going to let them get away with that, right?” She said. “We’re going to figure out their secrets, you and me and Nathan. And we’re going to stop the Troubles.”

Duke watched her for a few moments, trying to reconcile what he felt about this discussion to what his head was telling him. His very being was screaming that this was all on him, he was a bad person, he killed Evi. His wife, he killed his wife. "Nathan, let go," Duke smacked his hand in renewed vigor. "Just let me die."

"No," Nathan said firmly. "Make me."

“You’re not dying on our watch, Duke Crocker,” Audrey agreed, taking both Duke’s hands in hers. His pulse beat wildly in his wrists. “Who else is going to remind me there’s life out there waiting to be had after a bad day of dealing with the Troubles? Who’s going to get drunk with me and listen to bad eighties music? Who are we going to call when we need back up that understands sometimes you have to make the tough call for the greater good? You’re not a good guy? What kind of bad guy would put himself in danger time after time to help a whole town who never saw the good in you? You are a good man, Duke Crocker,” she told him firmly. 

"An idiot," he said softly. "An idiot would put himself in danger for a town that doesn't give a shit."

"Then we're all idiots," Nathan said, his chin resting on Duke's shoulder. "You, me, Parker, the whole police department. Everyone who didn't want to see anyone get hurt. All of us are a bunch of idiots, but we'll be idiots together."

"I don't really want to shoot you," Duke mumbled to Nathan.

"I know," Nathan rubbed Duke's arm. "I know."


	5. Chapter 5

~*~*~

Pete woke up in one of the most awesome rooms he’d ever seen. It wasn’t a very large room but there was a cushy brown sofa that wrapped around three sides of the room with a sleeper bed pulled out from the middle section. Blankets and pillows and comforters were piled all around on the couch, on the ottomans. Fluffy shag carpeting peeked out from beneath the sofa that was just begging you to sink your toes into it. It didn’t even feel too bad under Pete’s cheek which was pressed to the floor where he’d, from the feel of it, been unceremoniously dumped.

"’Bout time you woke up," Myka was sitting cross-legged a few feet from Pete. "The good news, we've found the blankets. The bad? We're locked in and it _has_ to be over a hundred degrees in here. She'd gotten rid of her jacket and if she'd been alone, would have stripped off her shirt. As it was, it was soaked through with sweat.

“Did you find the one we’re looking for?” Pete asked, pushing himself off the floor with a wince for his jaw.

"I think you're lying on top of it."

“Gah!” Pete shot up, brushing frantically at his clothes.

Myka laughed and pulled a glove out of her pocket, putting it on before touching the blanket. "Looks like the picture, right?" she examined the pattern.

“How could you let me nap on that thing?” he demanded, still slapping to get the artifact cooties off.

"Because you're heavier than you look," she lifted her eyes to look at him. "And because once we bag it, whatever whammy would be undone."

Pete’s eyes lit up as he scoffed. “Or maybe you just wanted an excuse for some cuddle-time with the Petemeister. It’s okay, Myka,” he held his arms open wide towards her, “I know it’s hard to resist all this manliness. C’mere.” He wiggled his fingers in invitation.

Myka glared at him as she shook open a bag large enough for the blanket. "Cover your eyes with that manliness," she stuffed the folded blanket into the bag and turned her head away from the sparks.

“Excellent!” Pete rubbed his hands together. “Now all we have to do is escape this room and we’re home free. Hic sunt dracones, pfffft! Artie totally overreacted as usual.”

The door to the room banged open. On the other side was Cassie Brennan, she was holding back the...wing of a dragon.

“I’ll eat them, then!” the beast roared in Tom Brennan’s voice.

Myka jumped to her feet, clutching the bag to her chest. "You just _had_ to jinx it, didn't you!"

~*~*~

Audrey felt the change in Duke first. The tension in his body seeped out as if someone somewhere had unplugged a drain. The rash on his arms and neck started to fade and his breath came slower, less ragged.

“Duke?” she asked, stroking his hair. “Are you okay?” She had a feeling he was. His fever had broken.

"Why are you on top of me?" Duke blinked at her in confusion. At some point he'd fallen asleep, and things were still muddled in his brain and... was that Nathan against his back? He jumped up, dislodging the other two occupants of the bed causing Nathan to tumble to the floor.

“Duke, how do you feel?” Audrey asked, getting slowly out of the bed, careful not to startle him. Something had changed in the last few minutes.

Nathan grunted and righted himself. He was sure, if he could feel anything, that his shoulder would be killing him from the impact. "Looks alright."

"What?" Duke looked around the room. "I'm fine. Perfect. In tip top shape." He took a large step back when Nathan got to his feet. 

“Do you remember anything from the last few hours?” Audrey asked.

"I remember a lot of things that will never be spoken of again," Duke turned away from them, horrified. "I gotta go," he made a beeline for the door.

Audrey huffed out a chuckle and shook her head. She raised her eyebrows at Nathan. “Guess he’s feeling better?”

Nathan's shoulders moved in a half shrug.

They were interrupted by Nathan’s phone beeping. Hers dinged as well.

She checked the screen. There was a sighting of a... dragon? in one of the neighborhoods.

Nathan stared at his phone, face impassive. "Duty calls," he stuffed it back in his pocket and grabbed his coat off the back of one of Audrey's chairs. "We'll worry about Duke later."

“So does Haven PD have swords in its armory?” she asked wryly.

~*~*~

“This is so cool,” Pete breathed as they watched Tom Brennan, the dragon, pace in front of the door to his den.

He was dark green, about the size of a bear with another three feet of tail that lashed angrily behind him as he paced and he sounded ready to breathe fire. There were many ways Pete had imagined he would die but he had to admit being taken out by a dragon would be the awesomest way. Not that he wanted to be taken out, but he didn’t have a sword and he didn’t think the tesla would take out something the size of a small dragon.

"No, Pete, this is decidedly _not_ cool," Myka hissed at him. 

“Tom, you can’t eat them!” Cassie Brennan argued with her dragon of a husband. “You’ve gone off the rails! You didn’t need to kidnap them! You shouldn’t have gone out flying in broad daylight and stolen all these blankets, either!” She shook a bunch of blankets in her hand. “People are going to notice they’re missing! What if they saw you, Tom? This nesting thing is going too far! I’m the one that’s pregnant!” She stamped her foot. “This has to stop somewhere, Tom!”

Tom snorted, puffs of smoke coming out of his nostrils. He turned to pace back down the hallway and his tail thumped noisily against the wall. 

Myka edged closer to Pete, "That's a dragon," she said out of the side of her mouth. "A blanket stealing dragon."

“That’s what’s so cool!” Pete explained.

~*~*~

"Do you think the report meant a _literal_ dragon?" Nathan asked Audrey as he drove to the location of the last sighting.

Audrey sighed and thumbed the button on the radio. “Laverne, can we get a status update on the dragon?” she asked drily.

"Sure, Hun," Laverne’s voice came over the radio. "It was last seen at the Brennan house, it might still be there.” Laverne gave them the address, adding, “No one has reported any injuries, but, Audrey, be careful."

“Is it really a dragon, Laverne?”

"What else would it be?"

Audrey sighed and hung up. This was Haven. What else would it be?

When they arrived on scene at the Brennan house they scouted the yard first then knocked at the front door. There was a crash following their knock then silence.

Nathan drew his gun, then gestured at Audrey to do the same. 

“You really think a gun’s going to take down a dragon?” she hissed, unholstering her weapon all the same.

He tried the door, it was unlocked. "I'll go first," he mouthed to her.

Audrey was hit by a wave of heat when the door was opened. Someone was going to have quite the bill this winter. She and Nathan quickly cleared the front room and she followed him silently towards the hall where the sound of voices could be heard. Nathan stopped so abruptly Audrey ran into his back. When she peered around his shoulder she found what had brought him up short. In the hallway there was a pregnant woman in her thirties and what appeared to be a living, smoke breathing, dragon pacing before her.

“Just let them go, Tom,” the woman was ordering.

"No," Tom growled, more smoke coming out of his nose. "They want my blankets."

"Blankets?" Nathan looked at Audrey.

"We don't want your blankets, Mr. Brennan," Myka tried her hardest to assure him. He wasn't listening to any reason. 

“We kinda do want one of his blankets,” Pete muttered to Myka. Then, off her look, he gestured helplessly as if to say ‘dragon!’

“Haven PD,” Audrey announced. “What seems to be the problem here?” she asked and ignored the Secret Service guy’s snort.

Tom spun around, tail barely missing the hall table, as he reacted to the sound of new voices. He opened his mouth to exhale, filling the hallway with smoke. "You won't have my blankets!"

“We don’t want your blankets, sir,” Audrey assured the angry dragon with as straight a face as she could manage while talking to a _dragon_. It helped that he looked ready to breathe fire, she supposed. “Did someone try to steal some of your property?” Audrey asked while internally wondering if Haven would ever stop surprising her. A dragon trouble? Really? And Garland Wuornos had managed to keep even this quiet?

" _They_ want my blankets," he snarled, turning his head to glare at the secret service agents.

"Sir," Myka's voice was even and at a low volume, not wanting to excite the situation any more than it already was. "The only blanket we were interested in was one that had been contaminated. It was a danger to you and your wife, and we only wanted to stop anyone from getting hurt."

“Contaminated?” Cassie Brennan shrieked. “With what? Get it out of here! Get it out of here, right now! Tom, I am not kidding!” She whacked the dragon in the shoulder.

Audrey stepped forward. “Mr. Brennan, do you know about the Troubles?” she asked. When he nodded, a puff of smoke escaping his snout, she went on. “I think maybe you’re Troubled, Tom. Is there anyone in your family who may have had this...problem before?” she asked.

Tom stared at them, things beginning to make sense. "My great grandmother was called The Dragon Lady," he told her. "We didn't know why."

Audrey nodded. “Usually a trouble is brought on by a trauma or something that caused a lot of stress, has anything like that happened to you?” she kept her voice calm and lowered her gun to her side seeing she’d got Tom thinking now.

Tom sighed, his legs curling beneath him as he crumpled to the floor. "We have a baby on the way," he said in a puff of smoke. "And I lost my job."

Audrey watched in amazement as the dragon curled up on the floor like a cat, but she kept talking. “That is a lot of stress to deal with. That might have caused your Trouble to activate. Usually when a Troubled person manages to calm down they can learn what triggers their Trouble and how to control it,” she assured him.

"How am I supposed to support a family when I have no job?" Tom looked up at Audrey.

Audrey felt a spark of inspiration hit her and she pressed the button on her radio. “Laverne, you there?” she asked. The dispatcher promptly answered. Everyone’s eyes were on Audrey as she said “Remember last week you were telling me your nephew got hired as the new manager at Bed, Bath and Beyond? Do you think he might need some new employees?” 

"I'm sure something can be worked out," was Laverne's reply. "Shall I call him?"

“That’d be great. Thanks, Laverne. I’ll get back to you with the details.” Audrey thumbed her radio off.

The figure of the dragon shimmered, leaving a forlorn looking Tom Brennan sitting on the hallway floor, still looking up at Audrey. "Really?" he asked her.

Audrey smiled and held out her hand to help him up. “Really,” she replied. Then she looked behind him to the two Secret Service Agents in the den. “Assuming you let our friends go without eating them?”

"Ah, yeah," he glanced at the agents. "I'm sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. 

Pete shook his head and then stuck out his hand to shake. “No worries, man. Not many people can say they’ve been threatened by a dragon.” He grinned and pumped Tom’s hand heartily.

"Don't worry," Myka said softly to Mrs. Brennan. "The blanket hasn't contaminated anything else, you're safe. But maybe... turn down the heat?"

Cassie nodded. “Thank you, for being so understanding,” she told Myka and the rest of the police officers in her house. She rubbed a hand over her stomach feeling grateful. She’d had visions of Tom being arrested and paraded before the media, spending the rest of his life in a medical facility being poked and prodded. She hadn’t imagined that this might end so well. They’d have scraped by on her salary at the bookstore but Tom had been so despondent when he’d lost his job and then the whole dragon thing had started happening...she’d really thought everything was going to explode in her face. But now...she turned to her husband and wrapped her arms around his neck so the police wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

Pete gently nudged Myka outside to give the couple their privacy.

“What a snag?” he offered when they stood in the cool Maine air again, glad to be out of the stifling heat of the house.

Myka smiled fondly at him. She might constantly tease him for it, but Pete's childlike nature was refreshing. It kept her from dwelling on the terror and focused on the wonder in their lives. 

Pete grinned back then nudged her indicating the pair of Haven PD Detectives approaching them. 

"Agents," Nathan looked between them and hoped to express how important this was. "It's imperative that no one finds out about what goes on here."

"We know," Myka nodded in assurance. "Your secret is safe with us, Chief Wuornos, we won't tell anyone."

“How’s your friend?” Pete asked.

Audrey laughed. “Embarrassed but otherwise fine. Funnily enough he seemed to come down off the drugs on the blanket all at once as if someone had _magically_ flipped a switch or something.” She eyed the agents suspiciously.

"What's the real story with that blanket," Nathan gestured at the bag Myka was still clinging to.

Myka simply smiled at him. "Haven has its secrets, we have ours," she shrugged.

“Those are some dangerous secrets,” Audrey observed.

"So are yours," Myka returned.

Pete stuck his hand out to the two Haven officers. “Good working with you guys, thanks for all the help,” he said.

Nathan nodded curtly, shaking their hands. "I hope our paths won't cross again."

Myka nodded in response.

The two agents walked off toward their car. 

“So you knew about the dragons. What else do you know about, Mykes?” Pete asked.

Myka glanced at him, the action causing no break in her stride. She smiled mysteriously and fought to keep it from turning into a smirk.

~*~*~

Audrey walked into the Grey Gull ahead of Nathan, it was lunchtime and she’d won the coin flip for who got to pick. She wanted to check on Duke, they hadn’t seen him since yesterday. She took a seat at her usual table and waited.

Duke had noticed them coming in and he was already pouring their usual cups of coffee. He brought them over to the table, without a word, and sat down at the empty chair.

Audrey took a long sip, studying him over the rim of her cup.

“You okay?” she finally asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, not looking up from the sugar container. "Just peachy," he looked over at Nathan who was cradling his mug. "It's lukewarm."

"Thanks," Nathan laughed softly. "Should I be pounding the table, complaining about cold coffee?"

"If you want to," Duke grinned. "But then who would I report a public disturbance to?"

Audrey chuckled. It was nice to see them getting along. Duke did look better, except for the high spots of color on his cheeks that showed he was still embarrassed. But he was Duke so he would never admit that.

She wanted to tease him, she really did, it would put him at ease and make the whole situation more normal but she just couldn’t find it in her heart to do so. Instead she said sincerely “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Duke.”

"Me too," he nodded. He stood up, put a hand on Nathan's shoulder, then dropped a kiss on the top of Audrey's head. "Me too."

~*~*~

“A dragon, Claud, a real living, fire breathing, dragon!” Pete’s eyes were huge as he gestured about the dragon. “It threatened to eat us! Bet you’ve never gone on a snag that cool,” he smirked.

"I have not," Claudia laughed. "Wear that dragon medal proud, Pete, wear it proud."

Myka huffed a laugh after setting the blanket on a shelf, the screen popping to life after she set the information, stating the blanket had been owned by a Jessica Elkhart and explaining how the blanket affected whomever used it. She made her way back into Artie's office, hands rubbing at her sides. "Artie…"

“Going to Haven,” he was grumbling as she stepped in. “Of all the places!” he turned to her. “Endangering the Troubled with an artifact!” he threw up his hands. “As if messing up a simple bag and tag wasn’t bad enough!”

"Mr. Crocker bought the blanket before we even made it to Bangor. We had no control over it. Thankfully no one was hurt. What would you have done?"

“That’s besides the point,” he huffed.

“All’s well that ends well Artimus,” Pete said, following his partner like always. He turned to Claudia and said “We were lucky the detectives were able to snuggle it up with their friend just like this,” Pete demonstrated, wrapping his arms around Artie and Myka in a big bear hug. He squeezed happily while the two grumbled to be let go. “While we saved the day!”

"Group hug!" Claudia squealed, jumping into the fray, hugging the group from the side opposite Pete. "I love you guys."


End file.
